AIBU: a driving one (traffic lights)

[Mumslace]

I feel so flustered and it has been one of those days.
I work in various places so was driving to a place I had never been before and I ended up on a road with building work so temporary traffic lights were there. There was probably about 4 cars ahead of me stopped on the red light and a huge lorry.
2 minutes into waiting, the guy in the lorry waved his hand at me as if to say "go" and kept waving, I ignored and then his waving started getting more frantic.
So I drove around his lorry and the car behind me followed, next thing i'm getting beeped at by every car and realise that i shouldn't have gone and told to pull in by one of the builder. The car behind me explained and I explained, but I presumed this lorry was working with the builders and the light was on green and nobody moved so when he waved i thought to go.

I feel like such an idiot.

I wouldn't worry about it, no-one got hurt. Just one of these things. Sit down with tea and a biscuit, chill. 🙂

i don't understand. what had the lorry driver meant by waving you on?

Can’t picture this at all.

You’re in a queue at the red with 4 cars and a lorry ahead of you.

The lorry is directly in front of you in the queue?

And you can’t see the lights round the lorry and he’s waving you to go round him? Out of his window he appears to be indicating you behind?

But actually then you ended up blocking the oncoming?

Obviously you just misinterpreted whatever the waving was but don’t stress about it. No harm done, after all.

Its far from clear from the description what happened or what the AIBU is but it doesn't sound like anything major.

Where were the 4 cars in front of you when he waved you on? Did they all go too?

I'm very confused by the way you have described this sutuation

I wouldn't endeavour to drive past a traffic light I couldn't see, even if it is a temporary one.

Ahh I know it sounds so confusing! I'm steuggling to explain.
It is usually two-way traffic but traffic lights making it single file.
I couldn't see past lorry originally so he waved a "you go past" kind of wave. Car behind me also began to follow.
I slowly pulled out notice the lights were green (must have just turned green), none of the other cars in front of the lorry moved and, as it was a building type of lorry, I presumed he was a worker telling me it was okay to go.
Instead, I was beeped at. One of the builders pointed for me to pull over. Every car that passed me beeped at me (even the lorry guy) and it wasn't until the car behind me explained to the builder what happened (about the lorry driver waving) that the builder actually let me go

I think i just needed to vent as I found it quite an intimidating situation

I suspect that what happened was the lights turned green, the queue was slow to get going, the lorry driver was gesturing impatiently AT THE CARS IN FRONT not moving off and wasn’t even thinking about you behind.

That said, if you’d already passed the cars and gone through the green and they’d beeped you, I’d just have kept driving, probably.

But don’t sweat it. I know how it feels but it was a genuine error and I can guarantee no one else there at the time is still thinking about it, just you!

@NoSquirrels the lorry driver was looking at me and i ignored the pointing originally,
And the builder pulled me over so i couldn't keep driving. He wouldn't let me go until the car behind explained what happened

That’s weird. He’d hung out the window of the cab and turned around behind to point at you?

How was he looking at you?!

@NoSquirrels wave at me as if you to say "go" and then i ignored and he kept doing it, no cars were coming towards me so I thought 'maybe I'm holding everyone up" as I'd been sat in traffic for a bit

@Shitfuckcommaetc his head was out of his window

I'd be stewing on this too if it was me OP.

I've no idea what the lorry drive could have been trying to communicate other than for you to pull around him. I'd have done the same as you and been equally confused and flustered.

Lorry driver sounds like a complete melon.

What I’m trying to understand is -

Lorry in front of you. Lorry driver higher up.

To wave at you and look at you, he’d need to crane his head out quite far and look round behind.

Whereas if he was just gesturing out the window with his arm looking forward that’s more understandable.

Anyway, doesn’t matter. The car behind also took it the same way I guess so try not to worry.

I'm just so glad the car behind explained as the builder was looking at me so smug and wouldn't communicate with me

@NoSquirrels his head was out the window, I ignored it originally and then i presumed he was a worker as his lorry was a building-style one

Why on earth did the builder think he had the right to detain you? What a self entitled prick.

@CheeseAndHackers presumably because it wasn't safe to go, men in the road ahead or whatever, which is why the cars in front hadn't gone. There must have been some communication to them that OP couldn't see or they would have gone when the light turned green and not been there for her to drive around.

YANBU the lorry driver caused all the problems. What on earth could he have been trying to achieve?!